If we were to consider the critical factors involved in teaching basketball players how to move better on the court, communication would be at the top. The ability to give clear, concise information easily absorbed by athletes is crucial.

The often missed aspect of giving information to athletes is making it specific and context-driven. What does that mean?

When a basketball coach, or performance coach, needs to improve their athletes' specific footwork, they need words that describe the type of footwork. In basketball, an example of this would be a “Snap Shuffle.” A Snap Shuffle lives in the lateral gait cycle family. It is known as a defensive shuffle. However, using a Snap Shuffle dials in on the exact type of footwork in the lateral defensive shuffle. It’s quick in tempo and short in the distance traveled. The athlete now knows how to execute the skill with two simple words.

The second part of sharing communication with your athletes is giving context to the skill. Context allows the athlete to know why and how to use the specific skill in a particular situation. For example, when a post defender is helping a teammate on a ball screen, often they will perform a hedge. Hedging simply means to step out and stop the ball handler from turning the corner so quickly to attack the basket. This technique buys time for the on-ball defender to get back into guarding position. Using a Snap Shuffle during hedging assures the post defender will not get out of position by lunging or over-extending, leaving their man wide open.

So when basketball coaches or performance coaches teach on-court basketball speed, language and communication matter.

Ironically, in basketball, we only focus on communicating specific actions or footwork on offense. We tell players what type of moves to use in various situations. We tell them how to get out of pressure using a specific term called pull-back dribble. We talk to our post players about the kinds of footwork action when making a post-move.

On the other hand, language attached to defense sounds good but means very little in terms of specifically helping players perform better.

Coaches often yell to their players, “HUSTLE,” “GET BACK,” “CUT’EM OFF,” and “DON’T LET’EM DRIBBLE PAST YOU”!

So, how do I hustle?

Where do you want me to get back to?

How do I cut them off?

And what do I do not to let them dribble past me?

These are the exact questions athletes are asking themselves.

The athletes know the answers, and they know what the coach wants. They're just not always sure how to execute. It’s not for lack of effort but a lack of understanding of the technique.

What if coaches had a nomenclature the entire staff used and the players also used? Everyone in the program would be on the same page and could use simple one-word or short phrases to signify what to do and how. Now, that would be impactful!

There are words and phrases basketball coaches can use to instantly communicate exactly what they want their players to do when executing footwork- especially on the defensive side of the game.

Let’s take a look at some of these words and phrases.

Snap Shuffle

The Snap Shuffle is a quick short shuffle with a specific role to stay in control but change the opponent's path. It is used in multiple situations.

Power Shuffle

The Power Shuffle is a more aggressive shuffle with the intent to gain speed and distance quickly. Guarding the ball handler in full-court defense is an example of when to use a Power Shuffle.

Contact Shuffle

A Contact Shuffle is a technique where the defender learns to use their sternum to take contact from the offensive player but still stay in a legal guarding position while not giving ground.

Waddle Shuffle

The Waddle Shuffle is footwork often used by post defenders in drop coverage during a pick and roll. It allows them to move in any direction quickly to guard an approaching offensive player.

Wedge Lateral Run

The Wedge Lateral Run is a great technique to teach defenders to challenge the space between the screener and ball handler during a pick and roll or dribble hand-off. The defender used a lateral run while keeping their hands high yet wedging their hips in the gap between the screener and man.

Power Lateral Run

Defenders know to completely attack new space as quickly as possible using a Power Shuffle. It is meant for long-distance coverage using the first step. The Power Shuffle is often used when recovering back into help position off-ball reversals or skip passes and taking away weakside gaps.

These are just some examples of many words or phrases to immediately communicate the specific footwork needed to defend during the game.

Like any offensive play or defensive strategy, the Power Lateral Run must be practiced. We must teach the language, demonstrate the technique, give the scenarios for context, and create the situations where to use these techniques. It’s not going to be 100% foolproof all the time; however, in my experience, it significantly increases the performance outcomes by a lot.

Communication in basketball is as important as communication in relationships. It needs to be clear and purposeful.
A basketball program with a strong communication system on how its players are to move their feet is important when building a cohesive unit on the floor. A critical and often overlooked aspect of communication has quick short words or phrases. Too much wording or confusing instruction is often worse than no instruction.

Lee Taft

Lee Taft, known to most simply as “The Speed Guy”, is highly respected as one of the top athletic movement specialists in the world. In the last 30 years he has devoted the majority of his time training multi-directional speed to all ages and abilities. He has spent much of this time teaching his multi-directional speed methods to top performance coaches and fitness professionals all over the world. Lee has also dedicated countless hours mentoring up and coming sports performance trainers, many who have gone into the profession and made a big impact themselves. Learn how to become a Certified Basketball Speed Specialist and CLICK HERE